By Simon Hirst: Carl Froch recently hit out at Jermain Taylor for ducking a fight with him. It came after another boxing website reported that Froch was out until June with injured ribs. Froch has venomously dismissed these reports insisting he is willing to fight anyone and anywhere. It was said Taylor’s camp were looking elsewhere because of this, but surely a simple phone call to Froch’s promoter would prove that Froch is fit and raring to go.
It is easy to see where Carl Froch is coming from. He is undeniably a champion fighters are avoiding. Last year, Joe Calzaghe, Denis Inkin, Alejandro Berrio, Rubin Williams and now Jermain Taylor. It can be said, what has Froch done to deserve to fight some of these, namely Calzaghe and Taylor more than the others. Well, he’s making a name for himself after a cracking fight for the WBC title which he now holds, making himself a better looking opponent if that’s in on offer.
Taylor coming off a pretty comprehensive victory against Jeff Lacy on points puts himself in the number one contender spot against Froch. However, it is a fight he didn’t need to have as he had the opportunity to fight Froch for the WBC title straight away, but turned it down for a place in the eliminator for same title. As mad as that seems, he is now trying to shake his tag off as number one contender in favour of, arguably, a more easier fight against Lucien Bute, who is coming off a win that was overshadowed by controversy. Bute dominated the majority of the fight, demonstrating some beautiful boxing, but towards the end, simply ran out of gas. Had he had the traditional ten seconds most fighters are giving to stand as opposed to what was actually twenty seconds, we wouldn’t be considering a match between Taylor and Bute for any title.
I can understand that a fight with Froch is not the most attractive of propositions for a fighter like Jermain Taylor. Froch is a far cry from names such as Ronald Wright and Bernard Hopkins, but again it seems to be coming down to a common theme. Joe Calzaghe is often criticised for not fighting Roy Jones or Bernard Hopkins in their prime, however he was ultimately not given the opportunity to do this, so why does the blame fall on Calzaghe for this? Some said that Calzaghe should have moved down to fight Hopkins, but am I right in thinking it is more common for a fighter, especially of Hopkins size, for him to move up?
I am not a hypocrite and try to analyse things fairly and happily admit that Britain’s own Ricky Hatton is doing the same in not considering fighters like Timothy Bradley and looking for bigger fights with Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather. The slight difference is Hatton is coming to the end off his career and needs the big fights, not just for money, but for motivation and legacy. The fact is Taylor, who has arguably peaked as a fighter, is more interested in fighting a bigger name, than those who are actually hold titles and are considered to be the best in their division. Sure, Bute is one of the best fighters, but why not respect his obligation to fight Froch and then unify the titles?
Who else could Taylor look to fight? There’s Bernard Hopkins, who wants Taylor now he is back to his best for revenge on the two defeats Taylor gave him. There is Mikkel Kessler, who is arguably the best super middleweight at the moment. There is Lucien Bute, a good champion and a bigger name than Froch. He could go back after Pavlik now he has the blueprint on how to beat him from Bernard Hopkins. With names like these, it seems clear why Taylor may choose to duck a fight with Froch. However, it does question the logic of making his fight with Jeff Lacy an eliminator if he has no intention of fighting the champion and disrespects the value of the WBC title if he fights for a different title.
If the fight ever happened, it would be a tight affair. Froch has an amazingly good chin having never been knocked down as an amateur or professional and you only have to watch his last fight to prove he can take a whack. Froch can tend to tire towards the end, but has the heart and chin to carry on until the 12th. His main problem is looking at the Pascal fight, he tended to stand and trade and if a fighter can pop in and out and steal rounds, then he would have to change his game plan. Taylor, a good boxer with some good skills, might get more than he bargained for, but also has the power to cause Froch trouble. However, Taylor has scored a knockout win for almost four years now, the last coming against Daniel Edouard. He has had eight fights in between that, so if Taylor was to win, I’d look for a points win. A personal prediction would be a close Froch win.
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